My aspirational list

 This morning I was tired of the endless to do list that I have been making for decades. I also have been failing to complete them most days which I find quite discouraging.  So today it became my aspirational list. These are the things that I aspire to do during the day. If I don’t get everything done oh well, no harm done. I did manage to complete 80% of my aspirational list today which made me feel pretty good. My dad always said it’s not what you say, but how you say it that matters.  Words do make a difference. Now I just have to get rid of all the list that say to do, and convince people to make aspirational lists instead. 

I was very busy for most of the day. I can’t remember a day recently that I did six full loads of laundry since the end of 2019.  Now to be truthful, two of them were hand wash. But that’s still six loads of laundry. Except for the clothes drying on the clothesline everything is put away too. I haven’t done that in a long time.

I even found time to knit and spin today.  I also managed to get in 10 minutes of Zenning by partly cleaning out a drawer and filling a trash can halfway.  Plus get over 6000 steps just by cleaning house today. So all in all it was a busy day and I’m really tired. I haven’t done this much work since at least the beginning of February so I’d say I’m well on the road to recovery.

TTFN

I Over Did It Today

 Today, after a very slow start to my day, I  cleaned out half my closet.  I managed to fill a large box for Goodwill that John will have to take in.  I then hung up the new shirts.  Then proceeded to go through the other half of the closet rack.  I pulled out clothes that I will never wear again and added them to the Goodwill box to make it even heavier.  Pulled some clothing out that I think will now fit. Then sorted the clothes into light and dark wash.  Then I did one,  just one load of laundry by myself.  It is now drying in the garage.

Apparently some of my clothes thought it would be a fun idea to get longer with out telling me   So one of my favorite skirts witless have to have the waist sewn down to make it shorter. Because of the design it, can’t be hemmed.  I did a brief search and could not find it in a petite size  they only come with a 36 inch long skirt which is now too long. Sighs.

Apparently my body thought that I did too much work today and let me know in no uncertain terms that this will not be tolerated right now. So after some rest I made a very light supper of scrambled eggs and mixed vegetables, with fruit for dessert.  

After dinner we watched some television.  I spent most of the night perfecting my left handed knitting skills.  I have to say that I am getting faster and my stitches more even.  I am working on a pounder scarf while we watch television.  I currently have 3 pounder scarfs in progress.  One for television, one for knitting with friends and one by the computer.  Not to be remiss, I also have 3 shawls in progress, one hat and 3 scarfs. I should really work on finishing some of the projects so I can start casting on more projects.  I can’t manage to do one project from start to finish right now. I am just a bit scattered and out of focus.  

TTFN, I am calling it an early night. 

Allergies Part 2

 Well it turns out that I should have washed the mattress protector too.  Now it’s time to go wash my sheets again. I woke up stuffy, but not like it has been.  So if I start the wash now everything should be finished before lunch.  I am so glad that I do not have to run out to a laundromat to wash everything, well almost everything again.  I was so wrong about this.  The mattress protector took most of the day to dry   I made my bed after dinner. 

I needed some retail therapy today. It was really nice. I have been short enough for the petite sizes but have been to heavy. Well today I got into a petite size large in pants.  Even better they were on sale for 40% off. Yes they came home with me along with a new sweater at 40% off in a regular size medium. Yes, down a size there too.  I like my sweaters on the long side. Yes, I know cropped sweaters are all the rage. I personally think that is due to the rising cost of yarn.  

Before dinner I even tackled another section of my closet. The end result is that I have more going to Bookman’s and 2 boxes and 1 trash bag for Goodwill. I ran out of boxes so the trash bags will have to do.  I have a bit to sort out and then the shelves are next.  Oh, did I mention that John will make the Goodwill run this weekend for me.  I think I will try to overstuff his car again.  

Busy is Good

 I had a busy day today.  I traded in some books for store credit at Bookman’s on Speedway. I used my credit to add 4 more pairs of socks to my charity project for next winter.  Then I dropped off the ai fryer we decided not to keep to a local charity Youth on Their Own.  Then it was off to lunch and knitting with a friend.  

Four dog pillows got stuffed and all I need to do is seam them up.  Then one of us will drop the pillows of at the animal shelter.  I am on the last 3/4 of an inch on a hat before I start the crown.  I am not going to update you on all my works in progress, but there are quite a few.

Tomorrow I need to do the laundry that I ignored all week. Then some general house cleaning and organizing.  Just maybe I can fill another couple of bags to take to Bookman’s on River.  I probably need to start another goodwill box too.  

Have a happy and productive day.  

UFO Day and Wishful Thinking

 I am declaring tomorrow, Wednesday to be UFO Day.  I have at least 10 projects that need 30 minutes or less to finish up.  Six dog pillows that just need a 6 inch seam closed.  Then 4 knitting projects that are almost done.  The scarf on the loom has at least 4 hours to finish, so it may not get done.

 Of course there will be laundry too, but let’s face it the washing machine and dryer do most of that work.  Now what I need is some very cleaver engineer to make a system where I put the sorted load in one end. Out will come the clean wet clothes that need to be hung up on hangers. Then put the wet clothes on the clothes line. The rest of the clothes sent to the dryer to be hung up or folded depending upon the article of clothing.  The folded clothes will go neatly into a basket and the clothes on hangers will go directly to the clothes line to be put away later. Of course all the socks will be matching and folded too. Now how hard could that be with all those and/ or variables? Easy peasy right. We just have not asked for it yet. 

Then I can going with my last minute holiday gift projects.  

Things about the Summer Heatwave

 It has been so hot in Tucson that even my newest Yeti cups are being challenged by the summer heat.  I find that instead of adding ice once or twice a day, I always have to add ice to the tumbler after a trip outside plus a couple more times.  I can’t imagine how much ice I would go through without my Yeti 30 ounce Tumblers.  Also since I am drinking to keep up with the heat my tumbler is being filled more often. I even take it to the bedroom at night so I don’t have to go as far to get water.  That’s not all that the heat is effecting.  My Fitbit watch bands need to be washed more frequently too. Even the trees look hot and tired.  The little over an inch of rain was just not enough for them.  We have a new batch of younger lizards using our front porch as a cooling station, which is fine because in return they eat plenty of bugs.  They are even paving the roads at night because it’s too hot to pave during the day. 

I did venture out to go to spinning today at Grandmas Spinning Wheel and had a great time. I took a drop spindle because I did not feel like carrying my Louet Victoria out in the heat.  I left early when my hands got tired.  I know that they were tired because I dropped my drop spindle 3 times in 5 minutes.  That’s when I know it’s time to stop. I can home and took an unintended nap.  

It need not be said because it is happening so frequently lately, laundry was done by 9 am.  I gave my appliances the afternoon off.  

TTFN

It’s Warmer Than Last Summer

 I am finding that the longer the summer temperatures stay in the really do you really want to go outside zone I am doing things differently.  Like laundry.  Tonight before bed I set up the first load of the day for tomorrow.  If I get up for any reason after 3am, I will start the load and put it in the dryer 1st thing when I wake up.  That way there is a possibility of getting a second load of laundry done.  Towels and sheets can’t be done on the same day either.  They both take too long to dry.  I do this to do my part in keeping the stress off the power grid. No laundry after 100F.  Which is hitting really early this year.  

I will do a couple of laps around Target before I start my shopping to gentry to get enough steps for the day in.  Same with the craft store. I am starting to get bored, but it is too hot to go out to eat even with misters. 

I am playing too many games on my iPad and not doing enough knitting, spinning or weaving.   I am doing more 5 minute Zenning  periods during the day.  I am enjoying watching the smaller lizards use our front porch as a cool down zone.  The benefit of this is that they eat the smaller bugs.  They have even gotten all the little spiders and egg pods around the front door.  To read as one less chore for us.  Also one fast food meal for the baby lizards.  

A Roller Coaster of a Day

 Life seems to be about taking 2 steps forward and 4 steps backward today.  The hand strengthening exercises, well, I wasn’t quite ready for those. So here we are are at almost the beginning again.  I am back to just mild stretching exercises once a day. 

So for now it will be just spinning and weaving.  At least with weaving, I am using up yarn faster than I am spinning it.  I have 2 scarfs completed ready for pictures.  The scarf that I started in January will have to wait a bit longer for those final rows.  Sighs! 

Since I could not sleep this morning, I spent 3 hours cleaning house before breakfast.  The results are 1 bag of trash and 2 bags of recycling out. Two loads of laundry completed. Five dog pillows finished and ready for delivery this weekend.  With lots of stuff going to their proper places.  Also 1 mile walked.  Did I mention that I also managed to fill one box for Goodwill too?

A Very Busy Day

 I was finally feeling well enough to vacuum almost all the tile in the house. I skipped the knitting room.  That will get do after I finish the next round of de stashing. That makes a little bit of a mess.  After that I steam mopped half the house.  After 1 1/2 hours of cleaning I called it quits.  We have an awful lot of tile in the house.  Let’s just face the facts.  At the time it was easier to push Eric’s wheelchair over tile than carpet.  It is also easier to clean up messes on tile rather than carpet.  It was a strategy that worked well for us. In that cleaning time I did not include the 4 loads of laundry.  That happened before breakfast, well at least the start of the 1st 2 loads.  The washing machine and dryer do most of the work.  

I also got a bit of knitting time in while listening to my current audiobook All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny.  I just love her writing.  I am also not listening to the books in order,  just what I can get at the library when I need a new book.  

I can tell when I have a very active day. My hands get very, very tired.  

Right on Schedule

 My recovery from this latest round of hand surgery is right on schedule.  It is always slower than I want.  I am doing the usual post surgery hand therapy several times a day.  Now that the stitches have healed, I am also working on minimizing the scar tissue. 

I am at the stage where I have big plans for the day.  These plans go as scheduled until my hand gets tired, sore or both.  That usually means stopping progress dead in its tracks for a rest until my hand feels better.  John and I used team work to make an awesome turkey chili for dinner.  I love how the onion is cut in perfect squares.  He is also on opening cans and bottles right now.  The best part is we only made 1/2 a pot so it’s a 2 night meal.  

I also managed to wash and fold almost 2 loads of laundry and get it put away. I say almost because I ran out of bend in my hand to finish folding the socks.  I put off load 3 until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow I plan on warping the loom before every chore but starting laundry.  If I wait until I finish my chores, my hand is too tired for precision work.  That way if my hand is too tired to spin, I can always weave while watching television.  

A Relaxing Sunday

 At a very slow pace I managed to get a lot done.  Laundry, shopping, finishing  4 projects for small holiday gifts so no pictures tonight.  I even cooked dinner for 2 nights.  Even some random acts of cleaning.  

Tomorrow I will set up the Halloween goodies bags.  I will have a table out side as I have the past 2 years. I get to watch the trick or treaters on the outside camera.  Not quite as much fun, but with COVID19, Flu and RSV numbers really high. Yes, high enough to make national press coverage. This is the safest way for me.  I will also let the kids take what they want.  Pencils, erasers and bubbles seem to go faster than Candy.  All the leftover candy will be sent to work with John.  All the leftover non perishable things like pencils and erasers go back in the closet for next year.

Black Yarn and more

 Every once in a while black yarn makes it’s way under cover of darkness into my yarn stash. Since this was a very good quality yarn I decided to keep it and make something with it.  So I gathered up the black yarn and a couple of my yarn butlers and set to work making a scarf. I decided to knit it in the round so that I would not have to look at the work while I was knitting. As you can see one skein has some white in it.  So when I run out of that yarn I will probably use some white yarn to keep the theme of black and white.  

You might be surprised to see me using 2 yarn butler’s. I am using 2, because black yarn is impossible to salvage when it gets tangled. Also I did not borrow one, I have five. I have four wooden yarn Butler’s and one 3D one that John made me. I find that for some projects yarn butlers are essential. When working with very dark yarn. When working with very large skeins of yarn. I also like to use John Butler’s when I am warping my looms. So there are a couple reasons that I have five yarn butlers. 

Talking about multiples of things, some days I wish I had two clothes dryers. I start doing laundry this morning after breakfast and just after 10 PM I put the last load in the dryer. It took a while for the blankets to dry. If I can’t get the big quilts washed in hot sunny days it takes about three rounds in the dryer to dry the big big quilts or bedspreads.  I am doing good so far with laundry. I have about 1000 yards a freshly spun, washed and thwacked yarn drying. Also the clothes I hung up with this morning. The only loads that have not been put away are the ones drying on the clothesline and the sheets that I just put in the dryer. So I think I conquered laundry today.

A Joyus Day

 Today started out on very bad footing. My neck and right shoulder hurt to the point I had to turn my body to look right. I was out of precooked home made oatmeal and did not have the time to make any before I had to leave. 

At lunchtime things began to slowly change for the better. I was just wishful thinking when at my favorite bread spot in town Beyond Bread, I asked if my favorite sandwich the Avi’s Avo could be made without bread or mayonnaise.  They said yes.. they really said yes and asked if I would like Romain lettuce instead of the bread. Of course I said yes. They brought out an overflowing bowl of lettuce, cucumbers, Sprouts, and turkey with two small cups of guacamole on the side. It was absolutely amazing paired with gazpacho soup and I was in heaven. Thank you Beyond Bread.

The day got even better my day got even better when I was working with my knitting student. The first thing we did was casting off a table runner That she had been working on for about a year. All it took on my part was showing her how to cast off just two stitches and she cast off the rest. The smile on her face for the accomplishment was just so wonderful. It just filled my heart with joy.

We then had to tackle the fringe on the table runner. First we pick the length the easy part. We use the short side of a CD case because it was the perfect length. First she learned how to cut the fringe. That was another easy part. Then we worked on putting the fringe in. That took a little more work, however she got the hang of it and got almost 10 inches of fringe done today. She had never picked up a crochet hook in her life. She learned how to put the crochet hook in the right stitches. How to do a quarter turn and pull the yarn through. And then how to tighten the fringe.  She was so excited and happy it was just absolutely amazing.

John managed to quickly get the spasm out of my neck and shoulder and now at bedtime even though I don’t have full range yet, I don’t hurt. I am hoping that a good nights sleep will take care of the rest. Having my neck and right shoulder hurt threw my whole body out of alignment. 

I did not get any spinning done today. I did manage to get 3 loads of laundry done with 2 being put away. So it turned into a good and joyous day. 

I am feeling better

 I am feeling better. I woke up at 3 am very hungry. I had 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich with water. Picked up a little. I have 3 loads of laundry going while it is still a relatively cool 80f outside. 1 hand wash, 1 in the washing machine, 1 in the dryer.  Now it is time for a nap. By the way I had all my laundry out of the dryer  or hanging on the Clothesline by 1030 am. Well before it it hit a 100f and something today.  

I am also going to use a different modular shell pattern for my new shawl.  I will start the search this weekend.  I was only 6 rows in so there won’t be much to frog.  So I started a much needed new pair of Maxi Fingerless Gloves in some wonderfully squishy and colorful yarn from Merino_Y_Vino on Etsy.  The turn around time for delivery was excellent too. 

My Thursday afternoon knitting buddy and I were working on a new skill.  She wanted to learn how to use the squirrel cage to wind yarn.  All was going well,  she was enjoying herself and relaxing until we came upon a 435 yard skein of sock yarn.  

Let me preface this by saying that yarn industry standards allow up to 5 knots per skein of yarn to prevent a mess like below.  Well this Indy dyer decided not to have any knots in her yarn.  So after the first break we restrung the ball winder and started again.  All went well for a while.  Then we started to get tangles that I was able to work through.  Then we got the knots. Not just any little knots but big ones, 4 to be exact.  So I took the reminder of the yarn off the squirrel cage and started to work out the big knots.  By the time I had to drive her home we were working with 3 separate ends.  This means that there is still a missing end in this yarn throw up.  She was enjoying herself watching me tango with this mess. Before you ask they were scissor cuts, not from moths.  

Pardon my messy work station as I seem to have many projects going at once, as usual.  I am currently working actively in tandem on 1 charity hat, 2 operation gratitude scarfs located in different parts of the house, 1 shawl on my couch and 1 pair of Maxi Fingerless Gloves, 1 project on the spinning wheel, and several projects on drop spindles. I also have 2 patterns that need typing and photos.  I do have other UFO’s that are in holding patterns. Also a lot of projects to be started and finished.   

We Are Super Busy

If you recall I had a problem with a ChaioGoo knitting needle.  My local yarn store owner let me know that  ChaioGoo guarantees their product. All you need to do is bring it in to where you bought it and they will replace it. On a very busy local yarn shop day Vicky exchange the needle for me. This is the first time that that has ever happened with a knitting needle in 22 years of knitting. I do tend to wear out knitting needles with high usage. I was very surprised and grateful. A special thank you goes out to Vicky of Grandma’s Spinning Wheel here in Tucson.  

This week we decided to clean out under each sink in the house. 5 cabinets in all. So Tuesday I emptied all of them into laundry baskets.  2 baskets for the kitchen and one for each of the other cabinets.  I think this should be done more often than I currently do it.  I found empty containers, half filled bottles and boxes, and more than a few cleaning rags. This afternoon we put everything back. John volunteered to do the kitchen,By the way he is great at organizing things.  We each did 2 cabinets.  That leaves the 5th cabinet.  While emptying the cabinet out I discovered that the towels felt crunchy, like they were put away wet.  Not in this house.  Then the towels started sticking to the wood. Not a good sign. Then I got to the bottom of the cabinet and they were hard to pull out. Underneath all the towels was discolored wood.  Apparently the sink had been leaking and we did not notice because of the almost 2 foot layer of towels.  Being one to divide up chores I took washing the 3 loads of towels with bleach and hot water. Then I got to fold them. I know that I could probably pin point the leak and try to fix it myself, but not this week. So John it going to tackle the leak and clean off the wood. Then I can put everything back together. 

As of Monday afternoon I am on a temporary knitting hiatus again. My right elbow is giving me trouble. Next week will involve a test to see where we go from here.  Because of all the cleaning of the past 2 days I have not gone through knitting withdrawal yet. I have been too busy.  I did however ask John if he was really sure if he wanted me to passenger without my knitting.  He was very brave to let me in the car without my knitting.  

I am trying coloring in a coloring book to keep me distracted when I want to knit.  I am doing really well with my left hand.  I am staying in the lines.  Playing with colors. Dropping a few colored pencils under the couch.  I will pick them up when I have dropped a few more so I have plenty of colors to play with.  I am going for abstract in the picture I an currently working on.  

Well it has been a long week and it’s only Wednesday. So I am calling it an early night. 

The Shawlette is Finished

 I finished the shawlette at 9pm tonight. Alas it was to dark to take pictures.  I also won yarn chicken.  I did not even have enough yarn left over for an extra row.  

I also did something I have not done since March of 2020. I went to Starbucks, ordered a tea. Yes I sat on the lovely patio in the shade.  I had the patio to myself.  I listened to my book and got a whole lot of knitting done.  I also got to the post office and gas station.  The gas was down to $4.79 a gallon.  Then it was time to go home and do a couple of loads of laundry.  A little picking up too.  

A Mixed Day

 I had a lot of energy this morning when I started 2 loads of laundry and went grocery shopping, by the time I got home and put everything away  I was tired   I did finish the laundry   I was to tired to knit or do anything else this afternoon and evening. So goes my life   

Yesterday and Today

 Yesterday we drove to the Eastside of Tucson and went to Aqua Caliente Park. Before the water levels dropped in Tucson it was a natural hot spring.  It is a nice area to walk around.  It was too cold to brin a picnic lunch.  Here are a couple of photos that John took.  

Today we did the Walk for Sjogren’s.  Since it was a virtual walk, we walked on our street until I was tired.  If you would still like to make a contribution to The Sjogren’s Foundation there is a link on my Facebook page.  

This afternoon I did laundry and napped.  This current flare up is exhausting.  John is better at taking pictures than I am at modeling.  

Acting Up

 Last night my body decided to laugh at me. It kept me up for a good portion of the night.  I finally got to sleep around 4 am.  I slept solidly until 10am.  I just had no energy for most of the day.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  I did manage to get 3 loads of laundry done and 5 minutes of deep cleaning done.  Yes I set a timer. Even though I was exhausted I did 5 minutes figuring that it was either going to be 5 minutes or energy would mysteriously come from somewhere and I would get more done.  Yes my body laughed at me. So I folded a load of laundry and tried to nap.  I was too tired to nap so I rested with my eyes closed.  

You all knew this was coming. You knew that a few days of solid cleaning like that was just not going to end well.  Yes, you were right.  I still have about a dozen boxes to go through but I think I will take it slower.  

If you actually believe the last statement you don’t know me very well.  Decades into this thing called life with Sjogren’s,my mind and body are still at odds.  I still want my mind to win , I don’t want to slow down.  I am not ready to slow down.  I still have so much to do.  

I am really hoping to sleep tonight. 

I am Grumpy

 I have been having a really hard time with social isolation lately. I am beyond the blues. I am at the point I feel this will never end.  Now the are saying because of a shortage of a basics like IV fluids it’s best not to leave the house.  I can really see their point. People have forgotten how to drive and lost the ability to be nice.  We also hit a grim milestone today, 900,000 people have officially died of COVID19 in the United States.  Unofficially I am sure it is much higher.  My prayers go out to the families. 

In other news climate change researchers say the the weather for the last 50 years has been getting more extreme.  So if I have this right I was not even a teenager when the weather started going to hell in a hand bag.  It’s just getting worse.  What does this mean in the long run, because 50 years is a drop in the bucket in weather years.  I guess I will  have to find the article by University of Arizona researcher's. 

The only good news is that I am caught up on laundry.  I will not have to do any until Sunday.